NOVEMBER 1  IS DAY ONE OF LEONARD PELTIER FREEDOM MONTH!


LAFAYETTE PARK RALLY   8:30 am  to 1pm   MONDAY  NOV. 1


PLEASE BE THERE TO SUPPORT THE NATIVE AMERICAN SURVIVORS FROM


WOUNDED KNEE, PINE RIDGE, AND OGLALA



Dear Friends,



     As you know,  the Leonard Peltier Freedom Campaign begins on November
first in Washington D.C. and will continue through Thanksgiving Day. We will
be in Lafayette Park every single day, and we need you to be there with us
to show support and solidarity for Mr. Peltier and for all Native Americans.
Mr. Peltier has been unjustly incarcerated  for some 23 years  as a result
of FBI misconduct, including the coercion of witnesses, the utilization of
falsified evidence, and the concealment of a key ballistics test reflecting
Mr. Peltier's innocence. He nevertheless remains in prison, denied a new
trial and long overdue for parole. Why ? Because he was a leader and he
stood up for his people.


Time is running out in this tragic case. Mr. Peltier's health is beginning
to deteriorate : he now suffers from diabetes and a heart condition as well
as a worsening jaw problem that causes constant pain. Although a Mayo Clinic
specialist has offered to repair the jaw, permission has been denied by
prison authorities. Amnesty International, the  Archbishop Desmond Tutu,
the Rev. Jesse Jackson, the Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights, the
Dalai Lama, the National Council of Churches, and the Archbishop of
Canterbury  have all recognized Leonard Peltier as a political prisoner  and
are demanding his immediate and unconditional release.


The time has come for us to act as well.  Monday November 1st s the first
day of the month long campaign. There will be an opening rally in Lafayette
Park to start up the activities, and we  believe that you will find the
presentations very moving. Chief Billy Tayac will  give the welcoming
comments,  and Freedom Runners will arrive from the Liberty Bell in
Philadelphia to demand  justice and freedom for Leonard. There will be  a
traditional prayer circle lead by David Chief, a spiritual leader, and a
group of Freedom Fasters will begin their long fasting in the square.
Most moving of all will be the arrival of the survivors from the siege of
Wounded Knee, from the Reign of Terror at Pine Ridge Reservation, and from
the shoot out at Oglala. This will be the first time these people have
gathered together to speak out in public in decades.  From 1973-1975 these
people endured one of the worst campaigns of repression by the U.S
government that was carried out in this century.  Hundreds of thousands of
rounds of live ammunition were fired at the men , women and children in
Wounded Knee. The  promised hearings on local abuses and treaty violations
never took place. After Wounded Knee, some 64 AIM members and traditionalist
supporters were murdered on Pine Ridge Reservation. Many others were
battered, abused and threatened. Despite a massive FBI presence not one
person ever stood trial for these crimes. After the incident at Oglala,
which a federal judge has recognized was equally the fault of the U.S.
government, Leonard Peltier was extradited from Canada on the basis of a
false affidavit obtained by the FBI through coercion and intimidation. Other
witnesses were terrorized as well . The FBI ballistic test reflecting his
innocence was withheld form the defense. In short, Leonard Peltier was
framed, one more victim of FBI corruption.


Where were we while all this horror occurred? To be sure, the truth was long
withheld from the press and the public. Peter Mathhiessen's book was kept
off the shelves for years by litigation. Yet many of us were indeed aware,
at least in part, of what was going on. We were appalled, but we believed
that the courts and the human rights leaders and our Congressional members
would somehow take care of things. We believed that matters would soon be
set straight, that justice would be achieved. We were wrong. People
continued to be killed and terrorized on Pine Ridge and even today, Leonard
Peltier remains in prison.


We were not present for our Native American friends and neighbors in those
terrifying years. We did not take a strong enough stand. We did not make
ourselves heard. They paid the price.


This time we must all be there, to show our full support for Mr. Peltier and
all of the survivors, and to express our outrage at the injustices which
have occurred. We must insist on Leonard Peltier's immediate and
unconditional release from prison. The time has come to demand justice and
respect for all Native Americans.


November is Native American Heritage Month. Let's not leave this grand title
as an empty euphemism. Let's make it count.


BE THERE ON NOVEMBER FIRST TO SUPPORT PELTIER AND THE SURVIVORS!




For further information call Za'Yn @ Amnesty International:202.544.0200 xt.
245
 email zmclean@aiusa.org or Leonard Peltier Freedom Coalition at
202-857-1469 or 785-842-5774 or visit our web site at:
http://members.xoom.com/freepeltier/index.html